"There is no friendship, no love, like that of the parent for the child."
-- Henry Ward Beecher

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Father's Day Gift 2011

I'm not crafty. However, when I realized I had not done anything artistically with J, I was shocked & disappointed in myself.

So became the top priority for this summer: Find a project for me & J.

Father's Day was right around the corner & Mr. M, and having given away all my great ideas for him - I was left with an "awe crap... What am I going to do for him?" moment.

Spending some time online, I came across a recipe online for making your own casting dough, and a ton of Father's Day poems. At first, I wasn't sure how to pull it all together, but the idea was planted...

First, J & I did the hands. I did them a week in advance, not knowing how'd they look after completed.

Not totally in love with it, as my lesson learned was you cannot use water based paint on an oil based dough. Also, know how you will present it when doing it. The rough edge at the bottom made it very hard to find a stand.

My initial idea was to place it in a frame with the poem below, however, the oil also made it more difficult to adhere to a backing to frame. The inconsistent thickness of the dough made finding a frame more challenging as well.

Enter Grandma & Grandpa P's help.

The weekend before Father's Day, we were visiting them. I brought the hands and the poem & begged for help. Grandma explained why she thought my ideas wouldn't work, but had some of her own.

Starting point was J napping & Grandpa staying with him...

We headed off to Michael's. Mom picked out a couple of idea, but then I found this awesome A-frame picture easel. It was perfect. Even the the odd shaping at the bottom, it set in there perfectly with the allowance for a tilt to the side. Across the front was the word FAMILY.

While I was thrilled I'd figured that out, I was still left with 'what to do with the poem?'

This is where Grandma came through HUGE! She asked if I had any pictures of Jacob. I did, of course.

Upon seeing I had Mr. M's favorite one from his 3-year-old pictures, she came up with the idea of putting them side by side in a frame that matches the A-frame.

While totally blurry taking a picture of a picture, in real life, I couldn't have been more proud. Mr. M was so delighted when he received this. The hands have stayed home, but the picture has a permanent spot his desk at work.

And we did Mr. M's Father's Day gift for less than $20.

Here is the poem I wrote:

Daddy takes my hand when

I’m looking for understanding, Patience when I have none,Knowledge when I’m learningDaddy’s grip gives me strength,Security to explore,
Safety in crowds,Confidence to do anythingDaddy, thank you forHolding my hand,Even when “I can do it”All on my own